Body for bicycle-saddles.



N0. 660,261. Paten ted out. 23, I900.. A. F. MEIJSSELBACH & w.MEISSELBACH, 1n. BODY FOR BICYCLE SADDLES.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST F. MEISSELBACH AND WILLIAM MEISSELBACH, JR., OF NEWARK, NEWJERSEY.

BODY FOR B lCYCLE-SADDLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,261, dated October23, 1900.

Application filed October 26, 1899- Serial No. 734,821; (N0 modem I Toall whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, AUGUST F. MEISSEL- BAOH and WILLIAM MEIssELBAoH,J12, citizens of the United States, residingat 325 Thirteenth avenue-,Newark,county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Bodies for Bicycle-Saddles, fullydescribed and represented in the following specification and the accoml0 panying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The object of this invention is to furnish a means of securing a leathercovering upon the body of a bicycle-saddle more quickly and economicallythan by means of sewing or clamping devices. Heretofore the leathercovering has commonly been riveted to a flange at the margin of thesaddle-body; but in some cases a leather facing has been placed upon theunder side of a body, 'to the edge of which the covering could be sewed,or a leather strip has been secured to the under side of the body, nearthe margin, for the same purpose. been secured to the under side of thebody by a series of outwardly-projecting prongs formed within the marginof the body and adapted to grip the extreme edge of such leather strip.In such construction the leather strip is a separate piece from thecover of the body and is stitched thereto at the edge,

While in our-construction we wholly avoid the stitching of the leatherand are enabled to form the leather covering in a single piece andsecure it upon the sheet-metal body in a single operation by forming theextreme edge of the body with prongs adapted to piece Y the margin ofthe leather covering and to clench upon the outer side of the same. Toefiect this result, the prongs are spaced apart so as to pierce theleather at intervals and made sufficiently slender to pierce the leatherwhen merely pressed upon the same and of suflicient length to bebent'after the prongs are passed through the leather, so that they maylook the leather securely and stretch it tightly over the body.stretched over the body and applied to the prongs, the prongs arepressed through the leather and bent simultaneously, so as to bend theleather abruptly over the edge of the body and turn it inwardly. Byforming a depend- Such leather strip has sometimes I When the leatheris.

ing flange upon the edge of the body the By the present invention weavoid the labor of sewing and riveting and secure a perfectlyslnoothedge upon the saddle, which is not liable to wear the clothes of therider. We prefer to form the edge of the body with an integral dependingflange, as such construction stiffens the sheet-metal body and carriesthe junction of the leather and the body out of sight, and thisconstruction is illustrated in the annexed drawings.

To attach the leather covering,it is stretched over the top surface ofsuch body with or without an intermediate padding, and its margin isforced upon the prongs and the latter bent toward the under side of thebody to lock the leather thereon. Such attachment of the leather can beperformed in a single brief operation by suitable tool's.

Where a saddle is formed with a depression in the middle, the body maybe formed with a corresponding slot or aperture and the leather securedaround the margin of such aperture by similar prongs.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows the under side of a body with prongsupon its periphery. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section upon the center ofsuch body. Fig. 3- represents the blank to form such body by flangingthe the body by such prongs the body is held inverted, as shown in Fig.2, with the leather the body, as shown in Fig. 4, thus stretching theleather firmly upon the body and locking it securely thereto. Three ofthe prongs are shown bent inwardly in Figs. 1 and 2 to,

illustrate their change of position when securing the leather. Bysuitable mechanism all of the prongs may be clenched at once, and theleather covering may thus be secured with great rapidity and triflingexpense.

The leather is bent abruptly over the edge of the sheet-metal body bythe pinching of the prongs, and as the edge of the leather and prongsare turned inwardly beneath the saddle-body the edge of the saddle isentirely free from projections or roughnesses, which would operate towear the clothes of the rider. The edge of the saddle thus presents abetter finish than Where the leather is sewed or riveted upon the bodyand is less likely to injure the riders clothing when in use. With thisconstruction the leather does not require holes to be formed in itsmargin before it is applied to the prongs, but the prongs themselvesserve to pierce holes in the leather, which holes are applied directlyto and are engaged by the said prongs, whereby the leather is tightlystretched by the prongs as they are bent inwardly.

The body is shown with aperture 05 in the middle and prongs c projectinginwardly from such apertures in Figs. 1 and 3. Such prongs are used tosecure the edges of the leather around the margin of such aperture whenthe saddle is formed with a depression in the middle.

The construction described is very simple, as the prongs are formed uponthe sheetmetal body in a single operation by suitable dies, and theleather is also secured upon the body by such prongs with the utmostexpedition by suitable tools.

We are aware that prongs have been formed upon the edge of a sheet-metalplate and fitted beneath the body of a bicycle-saddle to grip the edgesof a leather covering when turned inwardly beneath the body; but suchconstruction differs from ours in not requiring the prongs to be spacedapart and made of suitable length and taper, so as to penetrate theleather when the latter is forced thereon and to clench over the leatherfor looking it to the saddle.

Our construction wholly avoids the use of an additional plate to securethe leather upon the body and operates by penetrating the leatherinstead of gripping, clamping, or sewing the same. We do not claim aserrated plate, broadly, in a bicycle-saddle, but a one-piece bodyformed of sheet metal and having pointed tapering prongs around the edgeengaged directly with the leather to lock the same to the body.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimedherein is 1. A bicycle-saddle having a sheet-metal body with acontinuous series of integral prongs formed upon its extrelneedge, aflexible covering in one piece having holes applied directly to the saidprongs, the edge of the flexible covering bent abruptly over the edge ofthe body and the prongs bent inwardly to retain the edge of the flexiblecovering in such position, whereby the flexible covering is secured uponthe body without any seam or projections at the edge of the body.

2. A bicycle-saddle having a sheet-metal body with a depending flangearound its margin, a leather covering in one piece having its marginbent inwardly and upwardly from the edge of such flange forming asmoothunbroken leather periphery upon the saddle, a seriesof integral prongsupon the body turned inwardly from the edge of the body and having theirpoints bent upwardly to retain the leather, and the leather having itsextreme edge pierced by such prongs to hold the edge of the leather uponthe inner side .of such flange.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

AUGUST F. MEISSELBAOII. WILLIAM MEISSELBAOH, JR.

Witnesses:

DANIEL A. Bnaenssnn, THOMAS S. CRANE.

